Drone attacks on a Saudi Arabian oil refinery is one of the factors that have pushed up how much fuel will cost locals in October. According to the Automobile Association (AA), although the cost of fuel has increased in the first few weeks of September, the drone strike may cause a high spike in price.
The current prediction estimates that the price of petrol will rise by 19c cents for 95 octane petrol, while diesel will rise by 25 cents per litre. Illuminating paraffin is predicted to rise by 24 cents.
93 octane fuel, however, will decline by 4 cents per litre.
“The landed price of fuels in South Africa jumped by as much as a rand a litre in just three days after the attack, before settling back slightly. This turned a generally stable price picture into a negative one,” the AA said. “Without the rand’s performance, we could have been looking at price rises in excess of 40 cents a litre for some fuels.”
“South Africa’s transport economy is underpinned by liquid fuels and is extremely vulnerable to price impacts and fuel shortages. Government should urgently prioritise mitigations to protect against the potential of conflict-related instability in oil supply and pricing,” the Association added.
